Paris-Roubaix 2025 men's contenders – Can Tadej Pogačar stop Mathieu van der Poel making it three in a row?

The first outing in holy week, the Tour of Flanders, wet the appetite and now the battlelines are drawn for Sunday’s 122nd edition of Paris-Roubaix.

The third Monument of the season can be a particularly fickle race to conquer, labelled the Hell of the North for good reason, as riders take on 30 sections of cobbled roads to add 53.7 potentially tumultuous kilometres to twist the outcome of the 259.2km race from Compiègne to the fabled Roubaix velodrome. 

The means that even though a showdown between the winner of the last two editions, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Deceuninck), and dominant World Champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)-XRG, who most recently reigned supreme at the Tour of Flanders, seems almost inevitable its a race where the twists of luck – good and bad – leave room for others to dream.

Cyclingnews has run through the riders expected on the start line – with an official start list yet to be announced – examining the form and finesse to put together a list of ten of the men who could be vying for the podium as the race rounds the Roubaix velodrome. 

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Deceuninck)

It is impossible to look past Mathieu van der Poel, even if he is facing a new challenge in the form of Tadej Pogačar. The perfect combination of power and bike handling prowess honed through cyclocross and mountain biking, this is a race where Van der Poel has already twice demonstrated he has the measure of his rivals.

It could be argued that this Sunday he may also have the advantage on Pogačar as well, even if the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider did take the top step at the Tour of Flanders, while Van der Poel had to settle for third.

Van der Poel has the experience of Paris-Roubaix on his side, now heading to his fifth edition, and the challenge of the technical cobbles vs the climbs of Flanders also leans toward his advantage, as does the power of his team. 

On top of that, it turns out his run since taking first at Milan-San Remo and then the E3 Saxo Classic may have been stymied a little by the time Van der Poel reached Flanders. 

It turns out that on top of crashing at high speed early in last Sunday's opening volley, the Dutch rider had also been ill during the lead-in. Given the less-than-ideal run, it was an impressive run at Flanders – add in some better health and perhaps fortune at Paris-Roubaix, and it seems a high-risk path to bet against him.

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck)

Of course, Van der Poel isn't the only Alpecin-Deceuninck rider who has been right at the pointy end of the racing at Paris-Roubaix for the last two editions. As Van der Poel swept up the top spot with his 60km solo attack in 2024, Jasper Philipsen tied up the chase group sprint behind to take his second runner-up spot in a row. The year before, he had also taken second by trumping Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) in a two-way sprint.

So far this season, Philipsen already has two one-day podiums, taking a third at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and winning Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, though a crash at Nokere Koerse didn't help his run into Milan-San Remo and an ill-timed puncture at Gent-Wevelgem left him out of the running. 

However, then there was also a bad day at Dwars door Vlaanderen, which saw him fall away early and ultimately DNF. Still, while the crash at Nokere Koerse, he was back on track with his run in at Scheldeprijs on Wednesday, coming second again just as he did last year in the days before also taking the runner-up spot at Paris-Roubaix.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

The versatility of Tadej Pogačar appears to know no bounds, with Paris-Roubaix pushing the edges even further and likely leaving the team surrounding him with a nervous few hours on Sunday while watching Tour de France star tackle the brutal, and crash inducing, cobbles. Not that anyone is doubting his bike handling skills, which he has proven time and time again, most recently with a flawless performance at the Tour of Flanders.

There, however, he had more climbs to pour on the pressure, so the question is, can he wear down rivals like Van der Poel as effectively on the flatter terrain? And can he claim this Monument on debut, when so many of his most powerful rivals have had years to perfect their charge on this terrain? 

It is Pogačar, so what may appear seemingly impossible often becomes a reality and whenever the World Champion lines up, the probability he will end the day on the podium, most likely the top step, are high. In fact the worst performance from his three one-day races so far this year is the third at Milan-San Remo, with the event bookmarked by Strade Bianche and Tour of Flanders wins.

What's more, while Pogačar may be enough of a handful for his rivals alone his team's prowess amid the chaos of Flanders bodes well for Paris-Roubaix, as does the experience at the race he will have by his side, from Nils Politt who came second in 2019 and fourth last year, to Florian Vermeersch who was second in 2021.

Mad Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)

Mads Pedersen's performance at the Tour of Flanders delivered a clear reminder that Paris-Roubaix is far more than a two-horse race. He may not have been able to keep pace with Pogačar or Van der Poel on some of the climbs but his form clearly wasn't wanting given his ability to keep dragging himself back into the race and then, with the help of teammate Jasper Stuyven, finish it off by beating Van der Poel in the sprint for second. 

Throw in the advantage of the flatter terrain of Paris-Roubaix, and there is every reason for hope that more could be within reach, particularly as the 29-year-old from Denmark has already worked his way up from fourth in the race in 2023 to third in 2024.

"So far, it has been a pretty good Classics campaign, and I would love to finish it off with a victory in Roubaix," said Pedersen, who won Gent-Wevelgem and came second at E3 Saxo Classic.

Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek)

"We are not scared of anyone next week, that's for sure," was the understandable declaration from Lidl-Trek DS Gregory Rast after Flanders as not only do they have Pedersen on hand as one of the most powerful contenders for Paris-Roubaix, but there is also Jasper Stuyven. 

The Belgian has three top ten finishes at the race to Roubaix to his name, with his best result of fourth coming in 2017. 

After his fifth place at Tour of Flanders, coming after he helped set up Pedersen for second, Stuyven is heading into Roubaix with confidence. He was looking for an opportunity to get away at Flanders, but the headwind didn't work in his favour. 

But if everyone is looking at his teammate Pedersen, Stuyven may just be looking for another chance to get away the week later.

Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)

It is quite some time since Wout van Aert has gone this deep into the season without delivering a win and the near miss at Dwars door Vlaanderen, when the team was in a dominant position, was a bitter pill to swallow. 

Though the performance at Tour of Flanders was less disheartening. It may have been fourth for Van Aert but a tenacious fourth where the Belgian continued to fight back, as the rider himself put it "I never lost courage".

Given Van Aert was clearly close to being on par with the leading three, that could be enough to make the difference at the Hell of the North, which can turn on a dime.

Van Aert found that when he was heading toward the line out the front with eventual winner Van der Poel in 2023, he was set back by a puncture on Carrefour de l'Arbre yet fought back only to be beaten in the sprint for second by Van der Poel's teammate, Philipsen. 

Still, that edition where he delivered third, despite the day's trevails, combined with the second of 2022, where he also had a leg-sapping puncture, means there is plenty of promise for what could be if things run a little more smoothly for the Visma-Lease a Bike this time instead.

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)

Filippo Ganna has had a powerful start this season and a particularly strong Classics showing, with a second at Milan-San Remo to Van der Poel and a third at E3 Saxo Classic behind the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider and Pedersen. In a tilt to take the top step against them and Pogačar, the Ineos Grenadiers rider rolled the dice at the Tour of Flanders, going out early in the break.

It didn't deliver the victory or even a podium, though Ganna didn't implode either, finishing eighth – his best result at the event by a huge margin, given that last time he raced it was in 2019, and he was 98th. 

Still, Flanders isn't a race that factored high in his season plans like Paris-Roubaix, which he outlined at the start of the year as among his three key targets, the others being the Tour de France and Milan-San Remo, where he claimed the runner-up spot. 

Ganna is also another rider who will be happy with the curtailed climbing at Roubaix compared to Flanders, as he tackles the cobbles and more favourable terrain of a race where he finished sixth at his last attempt in 2023.

Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ)

Stefan Küng played a savvy and impressive hand at Tour of Flanders, getting up the road early but still having enough left to be able to stay in the mix when the big favourites bridged. 

He claimed seventh, making it three top ten finishes at the event in the past four editions. It rounds out a strong run through from sixth at the E3 Saxo Classic at the end of March and then a ninth at Dwars door Vlaanderen before the strong showing at Flanders. The question now is, can he build on the run at Paris-Roubaix?

It's a race where the 31-year-old Swiss rider has a powerful record, having finished fifth the last two editions and third in 2022. Küng's early season has been shaped around Roubaix and the results so far indicate his form is on target, now just to see if that is enough to flip the script.

Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has been building up its Classics strength, this year adding a strong haul of up and comers, from Oier Lazkano to Mick and Tim van Dijke as well as Laurence Pithie. 

The latter three all, last year, showed they had what it took to be near the front in the cobbled race last year, finding a spot in the top 20, and that undoubtedly leaves the team with a number of options, albeit without one powerhouse clear-cut favourite. However, with luck and teamwork, the chance is now there for one to emerge.

The leading card at present is perhaps the youngest, the 22-year-old Pithie, who didn't have the best run at the start of the Classics, with a crash taking a toll at Milan-San Remo, but his strong form was clear when he came 11th at Tour of Flanders on Sunday. 

Add to that, he also managed to clinch seventh in his debut in the gruelling race to Roubaix last year so with a bit more experience with his new group of teammates and at least some insight into what lies ahead in 2025, anything seems possible.

Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious)

Last year, Matej Mohorič had to miss out on Paris-Roubaix after crashing at the Tour of Flanders but he is now once again set to line up at the race where he finished fifth in 2022. 

It hasn't been the easiest spring for the 2022 Milan-San Remo winner, with illness taking a toll before a return at Milan-San Remo. 

However, while the Slovenian hasn't exactly had a stellar run even since then his 21st at Tour of Flanders, finishing with the first large group that was led over the line by Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers). 

That means it is not out of the question that Mohorič is coming into form just in time to get set for the key goal of the season, which he outlined at the start of the year was to "try and win Paris Roubaix".

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